Improved amalgamator



J. A. ROBINSQN, Jr. AMALGAMATOR.

No. 61,465. Patented Jan. 22, 1867'.

@niet grens me: @fina JUAN A.. ROBINSON, JR., OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA,

Lettera .Patent Na.'61,465, dated January/ 22, 1867.

tlge dgnnle referrals in -tlgee ettmi tant mn making part ni its time,

T0 ALL WHOM IT MIA-Y CONCERN: v

Be it known that I,` JUAN A'Lsnnn Ronrnsoiv, junior, of the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, have invented certain new end useful Improvements in Amalgamators, for amalgamating the precious metals; and hereby declare the following descriptionlcnd accompanying drawings are suicent toenable cnyperson skilled in the art or science to which it most nearly appertains to make and use my said invention or improvements without further invention or experiment.

The nature of my invention consists in providing an amalgamator of such construction and materials that by its 'use a larger quantity of the precious metals can be saved than -by any process hitherto adopted, while the base metals found in most ores are not amalgamated at all; Athus reducing the cost of working and rendering a class of ores Vvaluable that have hitherto been considered nearly-worthless; For this purpose I-employ atub or pan constructed of wood or copper, in such a manner that by the friction of wood. against co'pper, or copper against copper,"the pulp is sutiiciently agitated and the metallic particles kept bright so as to amalgamat'e with the mercuryreadily'.v Bynsing copper, or an alloypof. it; I -am enabled to precipitate the silver'from its sulphate, while the base metals are unaffected. In the drawings* v i Figure lrepresent a side sectional elevation of my apparatus, 'taken through the line :z: z.

Figure 2 is a top view, showing the muller, und the wings or scraper-s.

Figure 3 a'bottom view ofthe mul'ler, showing the shoes.

Figure 4 zin-inside topi-view of the pan or tub, with the muller removed, showing the false bottom.

Similar letters indicate like-parts.o l A A, (fig;-1,) represents a tub of wood, having a bottom, 'a, upon which is a false bottom, B, of copper, or an alloy of copper, smaller than the inner'circumference of the tnh. This false bottom is made in sections, .and between them are placed strips of wood, shown at c c,fg. 4. 'The inside circumference of the tuh is lined for a portion of its height with copper; as shown at b .v In the centre of the tubv is the hollow copper hub C,- rising through and fastened to' its bottom by the ilange d. Within thishub turns the upright shaft D, is moved by the gear e and e" and the pulley F. The hollow block E is supported upon the' upper end of the shaft DQ A four-armed yoke, g is supported and .turned by the block E, and in turn supports the muller'H. The muller has wooden shoes, m m, attached, which turn upon the false bottom B. The mulleriis raised and' lowered as required, by the screw'h, which passes through the cap of 'the block E, and rests upon the shaft G G G are wings or Scrapers, of copper, supported by a frame, and arranged to carry the moving pulp to the centre-land again under the mullet. i' i In working ores in this apparatus, the pulver-ized and roasted one is introduced, togetherA with 'mercury and water. The muller is then set in motion, when the mass is subjected to a. constant friction against themetallic portions ofthe apparatus-passing under the muller to the circumference.; then being brought to the centre over the top by the wings, and thence under the muller again, heat being applied during the operation. The object of this is not to subject the ore to a grinding process, but to 'pass the pulverized `orc. between .moving surfaces, whichma-y be both copper, or one of 'wood und the other of copper, or .an alloy of copper may' be used, so that 'the constant friction will bring the particles into contact with the copper, and thus precipitate the silver, and allow ,it to amalgamute with the mecury. As iron will precipitate copper and' other hase mhtals from their sulphates, while copper onlythrows down the silver, it is necessary that all ports of the apparatus withv which the pulp comes in .contact vshould be of copper, or wood and copper. It is well known that in the.

methods of usinglixivia'ting tubs-'Augustim Ziervogel, and Von Ppteras-the greatest care must be taken in the process of roastingor much of the silver will be lost. It thereforerequires professional skill and Ycure in. different parts of these operations to save thesilver, while if the ore. contains any gold, that is also lost; l In the Saxon or barrel process, ores containing copper, lead,` bismuth, etci, cannot be worked to advantage, as they4 cause the amalgam to comeout very impure, besides-fcarrying oprecious metals with them in the tailings,

.while not more than one-hnlfzthe gold in the ore can be saved. l Much care is also necessary in roasting. vIn

the use of iron pans, vcertain classes of ores and.` their products, such as argentiferous pig coppcr,. copper mult, silver fahlerzjf ,ts'ilver copperglancef'eto., have proved a complete failure, and where attempts have been'inade to work them after roasting and chlorodizing, only part of the silver, not exceeding one-half, that 'l is contained in the ore has been extracted, and this alloyed heavily with other metals, great -loss of mercury being sustainedby 'the operation. It is also almost mpossible'to prevent the mercury becoming oured or covered with a black reg-like conti-ng to such a degree as to prevent the further amalgamation of 'the piecos metals.

-The advent-ages gained by the use of myamalgamator nre- First,`in roasting the ore no sltvs-required, as it is not necessary to chlorodize the silver. It is not neces-v sary to stop the operation at a certain stage, as in some of the abovefmentioned processes; consequently any common laborer Aeen attend vtothe work, and professional skill be dispensed with.

Second, if any gol'd be Contained in the ore it will be amalgamated as well as the silver; while, if a salt of copper or other basemetal be present,.it will not be precipitated'or amalgamated thu'ssoving e, larger quantity 'l of precious metals und keeping the amalgom pure. ,i Third, the loss of mercury is very small,` as it never becomes divided o r coated, and there is no chemical loss, it being kept bright throughout the entire operation. Y

`Fourth, 'much less time is consumed by this amalgamator than by any other now in ilse, while the work is very-simple and e'ective, and if no metallic iron be present, thecopper of the amelgamator will not be' amalg'amated at lell.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, nnddesire to secure by Letters Patent, :ls-l. An emalgemator constructed of copper and wood, or an alloy of copper, with frictional surfaces, 'substantially as and for the'purpose described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto-setmy hand and s'eeLv J UAN ALFRED ROBINSON, JR. [1.; 5.-]

Witnesses:

C. W. M, Smrn, Gno. H. STRONG.. 

